second-guessing

verb

present participle of second-guess
1
as in outguessing

Related Words

Relevance
2
as in reasoning

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for second-guessing
  1. balking
  2. reasoning
  3. overreaching
  4. analyzing
  5. outmaneuvering
  6. reviewing
  7. outsmarting
  8. exploring
Verb
  • When the Timberwolves put the Nuggets over their knee and spanked them, there were so many to blame — Gordon’s aching body, Peyton Watson balking at playing, Murray’s shooting, Christian Braun’s timidity — that Jokic was almost spared.
    — Troy Renck, Denver Post, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Several budget hawks and conservative economists are already balking at the idea – a bad sign when just a few Republicans in either chamber can, until the voting margins change, tank pretty much any measure.
    — Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of balking
Verb
  • Queried by The News, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office declined to comment on prosecutors’ reasoning for downgrading the murder charge beyond what was said in court.
    — Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The Door offers seven-day retreats, reasoning that that’s the amount of time required to bring you back to you.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of reasoning
Verb
  • While most judges have categorized such requests as overreaching or for an improper purpose, two out of three judges on the panel ruled that there was nothing out of line about the QueerDoc request.
    — Theresa Gaffney, STAT, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Republican lawmakers disagree, saying that the approval is just another example of an overreaching government.
    — Tom Wait, CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of overreaching
Verb
  • In the comment section, amateur lawyers are analyzing the case.
    — Joe Kinsey OutKick, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The progression from vessel impact to environmental damage is clear to see in many cases, said Brian Barnes, who is part of a group of satellite oceanographers at the University of South Florida analyzing the effects of this war from afar.
    — Paula Hancocks, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of analyzing
Verb
  • The original 1960s cars had legendary status dominating the Monte Carlo Rally, outmaneuvering heavier machinery across icy mountain passes with lightweight agility rather than brute off-road hardware.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 9 Oct. 2026
  • The characters' abilities are built around outmaneuvering, not outgunning.
    — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of outmaneuvering
Verb
  • Staff is reviewing the report and learning how to apply the criteria to different programs before officially approving it in December, Peterson said.
    — Gloria Casas, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026
  • But according to La Jornada, officials are actively reviewing whether companies should be allowed to offer them without a gambling license.
    — Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of reviewing
Verb
  • In his younger days, Presnell seemed to enjoy outsmarting people.
    — Thomas Lake, AJC.com, 7 Oct. 2026
  • The problem, according to Hinton, is that humans will no longer be able to rely on outsmarting super-intelligent AI models.
    — Matt Egan, CNN Money, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of outsmarting
Verb
  • This poll is part of an ongoing project exploring the views of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, who are usually not highlighted in other surveys because of small sample sizes and lack of linguistic representation.
    — Terry Tang, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Former Great British Bake Off host Sue Perkins is exploring her late-in-life ADHD diagnosis for the first time in an Audible podcast.
    — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of exploring
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

second-guesses
second-guessing
secondhand
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Second-guessing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/second-guessing. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of disparate

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All